Austin is the fittest city in America and yet the availability in quality food absolutely stomps on the availability of quality fitness knowledge and training. In Austin, we have hundreds if not thousands of grocery stores, some giant, some baby and full of kale. We also might have more gyms than anywhere else in the country. I would stack most gyms in the run of the mill - HEB, Randalls, or Corner Market category – all the CrossFits, Lifetimes, and other Big Box gyms. There may be some decent stuff there, but if you take a look at what the majority people are buying it is going to be bullshit – processed everything, big Ag meat, and maybe even some big Ag fruits and veggies. I am making an enormous generalization, but if you sit at any one of these mainstream grocery stores (regardless of demographic) and take an objective look at what people buy…it will blow your mind.
When you wake up the same is true in the fitness realm except that most of the time people are completely unaware of the quality of the product they are purchasing. At least in the food realm we have equally mainstream documentaries like Food INC, Forks over Knives, and GMO OMG, which aren’t without their holes, but they do help to wake people up. Also, most everyone has read some book from someone about how they shouldn’t eat donuts and that red meat might be bad for them. This is equally worrisome, but at least people care.
So where do we fit in this weird grocery store analogy? I would put us and other gyms like Austin Simply Fit, Efficient Exercise, and Train 4 The Game in the Farmer’s Market, Coop, or Natural Grocers category (I may have missed a few, but not many – don’t shoot me). Honestly, Davis and I are probably a mini Farmer’s market with lots of weird items people have never heard of like Kefir, Beet Kavas, and New Zealand RibEyes. But, bottom line when you go to these types of establishments you have an idea of what your product is, where it came from, and why it will work.
Now you might be asking, well what about Whole Foods or Central Market? In the fitness industry we don’t have that. No big company has taken upon itself to really provide all levels of products, unbiasedly describe them, and then allow people to choose.
Why?
Because the general population’s fitness IQ is not high enough. They seek places that make them “feel” like they got a “workout”. In the words of Mike Boyle, “If you want me to make you sore, give me a bat!” Another problem is that any gym anywhere can get someone results in the first 6 months. You could go to the wiggle on the ground class, followed by 30 minutes on the moon machine, or you could go to the melt your face with push-ups and deadlifts class and depending on the person neither of these choices is best. Yet, lack of real knowledge is why these businesses can survive on a constant stream of EFTs and mainstream bullshit “fitness” strategies. America needs education. We need people to wake up to the importance of foundational movement, that MORE is generally not better, and the fact that exercise is a stressor that cannot and does not live on an island.
By: Ben House FDN, Ph.D Candidate
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